Combination-lock.



-No. 729,940 PATENTED' JUNE 2, 190a;

- c. F. KELLER.

COMBINATION LOCK.

A PPLIUATION FILED MAR. 1. 1902.

I0 MODEL.

a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

tionon the line 9 9 of Fig. 2.

UNTTED STATES Patented June 2, 1903.

PATENT FFICE.

CHARLES F. KELLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY,MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO AMERICAN POST-OFFICE EQUIPMENT COMPANY, A CORPORA- TIONOF ILLINOIS.

ooMBmAT-ion-LocK.

SPECIFICATION formingpart Of Letters Patent No. 729,940, dated June 2, 1903.

Application filed March 1, 1902. Serial No. 96,319.. (No model.)

combination-locks of the classof the invention set forthin Letters Patent of the United States No. 691,273, issued to me January 14, 1902; and the objects of myfimprovements are to facilitate the rapid operation of the lock, to render its construction more economical and more durable, to provide more positive and effective means for automatically throwing off the combination, to provide a more convenient method of changing the combination, to provide an efiective and convenient form of stop-key for preventing the operation of the bolt, and to accomplish such other and further superiorities in construction and operation as may obtain in the devices hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the lock applied to a lock-box door. Fig. 2 is arear elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is the same as Fig. 2,'but with-the caseplate removed. Fig. 4 is the same as Fig. 2, but showing the hooked tumbler or disconcerting device partially engaged with a stud on the adjacent "rotary tumbler. Fig. 5 is the same as Fig. 4, but with the said hooked tumbler fully engaging the said stud and with the latch-bolt retracted. Fig. 6 is an underneath plan view of the case-plate. Fig. 7 is a rear plan view of the lock with certain parts removed to show the rotary tumbler nearer the front of the door. Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8 8 of Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is asec- Fig; 10 is a plan view of the friction-spring that may be used to keep the working parts inproper contact with each other. Fig. 11 is a section on the line 11 11 of Fig. 2. Fig. 12 is a plan of a certain modification in which the operating-spindle is arranged to withdraw the lockbolt as well as to operate the rotary tumblers. Fig. 13 is a sectional view to show the same modification. Fig. 14 is a section on the line 14 14 of Fig. 12 and showing some further detail, and Fig. 15 is a sect-ion on the line 15 15 of Fig. 2 of thecombined stop-key and signal shown in Fig. 1.

Like reference-numerals indicate like parts in all the figures.

20 is a rotary spindle journaled in the door front and having on its outer end the pointer 21. In its rotation this pointer 21 successively registers with the indicating-points 22 23 24, which'are raised bosses, preferably, though not necessarily, integral with the door, and which are preferably of several different alternating forms adapted to bedistinguished one from another by the sense of'touch, so as to render the lock serviceable in insufficiently lighted. locations. -.'lhe arrangement of these I index-points of alternating diverse forms in two or more concentric circles greatly increases the facility and accuracy with which the rotating pointer may be brought into registry with the desired point by either sight or the sense of touch. As shown here, some of these indicating-points are conformed to and some are more or less distinctly diiferent from the shape of the'end of the pointer 21. For part of its length the spindle 20 is polygonal in cross-section, as indicated at 25, and on this polygonal part of the spindle is fitteda disk 26 with a notched periphery,-such notches 27 27 being'adapted to engage astud-pin 28 in the adjacent rotary tumbler 29. A studpin 30 on'the opposite face of the rotary tumble r 29 is adapted to engage a stud-pin 31 in the rotary tumbler 32. Each of these rotary tumblers 29 and 32 has its periphery-provided with a series of holes 33 33 to allow the respective studpins above mentioned" to be shifted in position, so as to changethe combination of the lock in the general manner commoninrotary-tumbler combination-locks; but the polygonal segment of the spindle20, fitting the polygonal hole in the center of the disk 26, renders it possible to efl'fect a considerable number of changes of the combination without any other operation than that of loosening the retaining-screw 34at the in and turning the spindle part of a revolution before replacinp it, thus bringing the polygonal segment and the pointer 21 into a new relation with the polygonal hole in the disk 26. The rotary tumblers 29 and 32 have proper recesses 35 36 to receive the fence 37 when the combination is set for opening the lock.- The fence 37 is integral with a lockbolt 38, and the latter is suitably connected with the spring latch-bolt 39, by which the door is secured. The lock-bolt 38 is provided with a handle 40, by means of which it may be retracted and the door unlocked and opened after the combination of the lock has been operated. Thelatch-bolt39 is provided with a handle 41 and is adapted to be retracted from its keeper without and independently of the operation of the combination-lock. A stop-key 42 is provided to serve the twofold purpose of both preventing the operation of the lock-bolt 38 and latch-bolt 39 and displaying a signal, such as the notice Box-rent due, to indicate that the lock is out of service. This stop-key has a hooked upper end piece adapted to pass over the boss in which the latch-bolt is socketed and lodge behind the lower end of the bridge-piece connecting the lock-bolt 38 with the latch-bolt 39, so as to prevent the movement of the said lockbolt to retract the said latch-bolt.

On the fence 37is pivoted the hooked tumbler 43, adapted to engage a stud 44 on the rotary tumbler 32 when the lock-bolt and fence is retracted. The fixed contact point 45, which is preferably the lower edge of the opening made through the lock-casing to admit the fence 37, depresses the hooked tumbler 43 into this engagement with the stud 44 when the fence is retracted, as aforesaid, and the fixed contact-point 46, which is preferably a stud projecting inward from the case-plate, (shown in Fig. (5,) holds the said hooked tumbler 43 out of such engagement with the stud 44 when the lock-bolt is in normal locked position. The forward jerk of the spring latch-bolt transmitted through the lock-bolt and fence to the hooked tumbler 43 causes the latter, by means of the stud 44, to throw the rotary tumbler 32 through part of a revolution, thereby relocking the look as soon as the fence 37 is withdrawn from the recesses 35 3?.

Instead of employing the handle the lock-bolt may be connected with a yoke 47, surrounding the spindle 20, and the spindle may be made reciprocating as well as rotating, and the disk 26 may be made of the form 48 and adapted to engage with the stud-pin 28 when the spindle is at one limit of its reciprocation and to engage and reciprocate the yoke 47 when the spindle is at the other limit of its reciprocation. Bysuch construction the spindle is adapted to serve the twofold function of both operating the rotary tumblers and retracting the lock-bolt.

In the form of device shown in Figs. 12, 13,

and 14 when the spindle is pulled out toward the operator the disk 26 lies in the plane of movement of the yoke 47 and clears the studpin 28, thus being in position to reciprocate the said yoke,while when the spindle is pushed in to the other limit of its reciprocation the disk 26 entirelyclears the plane of movement of the yoke 47 and engages the stud-pin 28, thus being in position to actuate the rotary tumblers in the same manner as in the form of lock shown in Figs. 1 to 11 and nothaving a reciprocation of the spindle 20.'

A friction-spring 49 maybe used to take up lost motion and hold the working parts in proper contact with each other. Separators 50 50 may be used to prevent frictional trans mission of rotary motion-from one moving part to another.

In the foregoing specification myinvention is described as embodied in certain particular aud'preferable forms of construction; but I do not limit myself to such special forms.

Having thus set forth my invention, I now claim- 4 1. In a keyless rotary-tumbler lock, in combination, a rotating spindle for operating the tumblers, an indicator fastened upon the outer -end of said spindle, and, registering successively with said rotating indicator, raised index-points embossed upon and integral with the door-front that bears the lock, said index-points being arranged on two or more concentric circles, substantially as specified.

2. In a keyless rotary-tumbler lock, in combination, a rotating spindle for operating the tumblers, an indicator fastened upon the outer end of said spindle, and, upon the doorfront, a radial series ofbosses, separate from each other and adapted to register successively with the said rotating indicator and arranged on two or more concentric circles, substantially as specified.

3. In a keyless rotary-tumbler lock, in combination, a rotating spindle for operating the tumblers, an indicator fastened upon the outer end of said spindle, and, upon the doorfront, a radial series of bosses, separate from each other and adapted to register successively with the said rotating indicator, said bosses being of two or more diverse formssystematically alternated and arranged on two or more concentric circles, substantially as specified.

4. In a keyless rotary-tumbler lock, in combination, a rotating spindle for operating the tumblers, an indicator fastened upon the outer end of said spindle, and, upon the doorfront,'a radial series of bosses, separate from each other and adapted to register successively with the said rotary indicator, said bosses being alternately conformed to and different from the shape of the extremity of the aforesaid rotating indicator, substantially as specified.

5. In a keyless rotary-tumbler lock, in combination, a rotating spindle foroperating the tumblers, an indicator fastened upon the outer end of said spindle, and, upon and integral with the door-front, a radial series of bosses, separate from each other and adapted to register successively with the said rotating indicator, said bosses being of two or more diverse forms systematically alternated and arranged on two or more concentric circles, substantially as specified.

6. In a keyless rotary-tumbler lock, in combination, rotary tumblers, a fence connected with the lock-bolt, and pivoted on said fence, and operated by the forward movement thereof, a pivoted hook-shaped tumbler adapted to engage with and rotate one of the rotary tumblers, substantially as specified.

' 7. In a keyless rotary-tumbler lock, in combination, rotary tumblers, a fence connected with the lockbolt,a pivoted hook-shaped tum-- bler pivoted on said fence and operated by the movement thereof, a stud on one of the rotary tumblers, said stud being adapted to engage the hooked end of the said hooked tumbler when such hooked end is depressed toward the axis of the rotatingtu mblers, and two fixed contact-points respectively, adapted to hold said hooked tumbler awayfrom said stud when said fence is at normal locked position and to depress said hooked tumbler into engagement with said stud when said lock-bolt when said spindle is pulledoutward, substantially as specified.

9. In a keyless rotary-tumblerlock, in combination, raised index-points embossed upon and integral with the door-front that bears the lock, an indicator fastened upon the outer end of a rotating spindle and registering successively with said index-points,rotary tumblers actuated by said spindle, stationary separators to prevent peripheral contact of said tumblers with each other, a fence connected with the spring lock-bolt, and pivoted on said fence, and operated by the forward movement thereof, a hook-shaped tumbler adapted to engage with and rotate one of the rotary tumblers, substantiallyasspecified.

10. In a lock-box lock, a stop-keyhaving a portion cooperating with and adapted to prevent the movement of the movable lock parts actuating the latch-bolt, and having another and pendent portion adapted to display,

through the glass panel of the door, a signal to indicate that said bolt is so secured,-substantially as specified.

11. In a lock-box look, a sheet-metalstopkey one end of which hooks over and prevents the movement of the latch-bolt, and theother end of which is formed into a plate adapted to be visible through the glass panel of the door and to display a notice indicatingthat the lock-box is out of service, substantially as specified.

12. In a lock-box look, a stop-key having a portion cooperating with and adapted-to prev vent the movement of the latch-bolt and having another. portion adapted to display a signal to indicate that said bolt is so secured,

substantially as specified,

CHARLES F. KELLER.

Witnesses:

GEo. L. LAVERY, HENRY LovE CLARKE. 

